The Subspace Invasion
by waffleman1314-AJ ThaPlatypus
Summary: The peace of a land is disrupted when a mysterious evil shows itself for what it is with an attack on a midair stadium. It will take an unlikely combination of persons to fight a very misleading threat.
1. Midair Stadium

**I got a little bored and needed some different characters to work with...so I'm just narrating Adventure Mode. I suppose I am taking a lot of "liberties" with certain things (specifically giving them voices that they don't have in the game). -AJ ThaPlatypus**

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It was high noon and the sun was shining down on a nearly cloudless day. The crowd filling the stadium wasn't bothered in the least by the heat, though. They'd come from all over just to see today's match. Everyone that could come had; Zelda of Hyrule even looked down over the empty stadium. The blue platform floating in the center of the stadium was empty—for now. Zelda looked slightly to her left as she was joined by Peach, who'd traveled here from the Mushroom Kingdom. The princess in pink held a parasol over her head.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" she noted. Zelda replied with a simple, curt nod. The two princesses gazed down at the empty platform for a moment. A wild rush of cries flooded the stadium, and Peach pointed out towards a small figure moving rapidly downwards onto the platform. She cried out, "There! It's about to begin!"

Zelda peered down and noted that the falling figure was none other than Mario—Peach's reason for attending the match today. The plumber was frozen as a statue; his feet glued to a golden disk that resembled a coin used in this region. That was the typical form of those who'd been defeated in matches. Upon defeat, they would solidify into a statue that could only be undone when someone touched the disk beneath them. Mario wasn't defeated; he was just entering with flair.

As his disk hit the floating platform, golden light washed over him. A chime was heard when he returned to his normal state, and Mario quickly posed in a ready position. His opponent entered in much the same way—Kirby from Dream Land landed, turned from his statue form, and waved his tiny hands around at the spectators. The two faced one another and Kirby's smile melted into a blank look.

"Who are you thinking will win?" Peach asked, staring down at Mario with a smile on her face. "Mario has potential."

"So does Kirby," Zelda hummed. "But I guess I'd vote Mario, too. Though I've never seen either fight."

They watched as the match started up. There was nothing to indicate its beginning save for the appearance of the two combatants. Mario was the first to attack. He rushed towards Kirby and threw a punch with his right hand. Kirby flipped out of the way and issued his own blow—a left-footed kick. It grazed Mario's hat. The plumber spun around and released a fireball at his opponent. Gasps ran through the crowd when Kirby was hit dead on with the blast.

Unshaken, Kirby whipped out a sword and leapt up into the air. Mario flipped backwards, but was knocked down by a gust of wind caused by the impact of the sword on the platform. He came back to return it with a whip of a yellow flag, which reflected the projectiles coming at him from a stray weapon Kirby had snatched up. Kirby opened his mouth and inhaled Mario for a moment. The crowd fell silent.

"Mario!" Peach exclaimed. Zelda blinked, knowing somewhat that it wasn't what everyone assumed. The match rules didn't allow for death—just defeat. Kirby spit Mario back out, but to the plumber's surprise, the denizen of Dream Land had stolen his ability to shoot fireballs and was now pelting them in his direction.

He avoided the attacks with ease and made his way up to Kirby. With a hasty punch, Mario's fist connected with Kirby's face and his opponent went flying. Up, up Kirby went, and when he'd reached the crest of his flight, golden light blinked in the sun and the chime was heard. Kirby fell to the platform a statue, in evident defeat. Mario approached the statue and tapped the bottom.

Kirby looked about in slight confusion, but seemed to gather from the roaring of the crowd that one hit was enough. Defeat was defeat. He offered a hand to Mario and they shook on it. Peach cheered and clapped loudly from the balcony. The twosome waved at the crowd, enjoying the moment of captivated attention.

"Hey, is it supposed to storm today?" Zelda asked, jerking her eyes away from the commotion in the stadium. Peach turned to stare at what her fellow royal was mentioning. Mario, from the platform, also seemed to note the sudden change in weather.

"That doesn't look like a normal storm to me…" Peach murmured. The blue sky was replaced by red, smoky clouds. A large airship came into view. Purple orbs fell over the platform and began to form into unusual creatures. They had no mouths, only glowing eyes embedded in their faces. They made soft gurgling sounds as they advanced towards Mario and Kirby.

"We need to get down there and help," Zelda said, hoping that Peach would get the message. She sprinted to the edge of the balcony and used her magic to teleport herself down to the platform. She watched as Peach floated daintily down beside her with her parasol.

"What are these things?" Peach frowned.

"Not sure, but I recognize the ship," Kirby noted, unfazed that the princesses were joining the impending fight. The others looked up to see a ship breaking through the clouds. Zelda frowned. What danger had possibly followed this contender?

"Is that a bad thing?" Zelda frowned.

"An old enemy flies that ship," Kirby said grimly. He looked from the creatures headed their way to the ship. "It's the Battleship Halberd. But…I don't ever recall these creatures being a part of it. They're not from Dream Land."

"So they're from…?" Mario trailed off. There wasn't enough time for anyone to offer him a response, as the creatures soon amassed and began their attack. The first minions to appear were not the only ones; some that resembled clouds came down to zap them with jolts of lightning. The platform seemed to assume that a regular battle was ensuing and began to provide the four with various items. Kirby snatched up a baseball bat and started picking them off.

"Whatever they are, they can't take too many hits!" he exclaimed. He rammed the bat through one and it dissipated into the purple orbs once more. "What are these things that they're made of? They look like…bugs!"

"Bugs…" Mario blinked. He knocked one creature to the ground and watched as the orbs broke apart. They did sort of resemble bugs. He remembered a quick lesson he'd had about this world before he'd attended the match. "They must be Shadow Bugs."

"Oh, right!" Kirby exclaimed. "So _these_ must be Primids!"

"Primids?" Zelda questioned, using her magic to blast a few of the creatures off of the platform. They dissipated into nothingness. "How do you know what these things are called?"

"We had to take a lesson before we entered the match," Mario explained. "Something like a cultural entry exam…but there was mention of enemies that had been seen at random as of late. The main foot soldiers of this unknown enemy are Primids."

"They form from Shadow Bugs, just like all of the minions of this unknown enemy," Kirby furthered, as he swiped his sword through a few more. "And those cloud-like ones must be Spaaks!"

"Are you sure you're not making that word up?" Peach rolled her eyes at the short fellow. Kirby frowned and kicked one Primid in the stomach. Peach used her parasol as a weapon and whacked the remaining few Primids off of the edge of the stage. "It sounds just a little off-the-top-of-your-head!"

"Why would I make that up?" Kirby whined. He ducked as Mario leapt over him and finished off the last of the cloud minions, which he called Spaaks. He watched Mario fall to the platform and blinked.

"That ship is landing!" Zelda exclaimed. She pointed off behind Mario. Upon seeing her gesture, Mario ran off towards the landing ship. A loud sound erupted from behind him, so he turned to face it.

A flying creature, like a robot clad in emerald, flew out of the clouds, a large ball attached to its base. The creature dropped the ball onto the platform. Two robots came out and placed their arms inside of the device, pulling it apart. The inside revealed a purple, ebbing mass and a clock that was counting down. The plumber gasped; the device was a large, powerful bomb.

"I…am the Ancient Minister," the flying metal creature droned. It looked down at the robots, gave a nod, and began its ascent. "Fear my Master…for this power unleashed is his alone."

Mario rushed towards the bomb to deactivate it as the Ancient Minister flew quickly away, but he was met unexpectedly by a cannonball in the face. Kirby jumped a little and watched the plumber fly off into the clouds, somewhere beyond the stadium. A glint of light told him that Mario had been turned back into a statue. Before he could get over the shock that Mario was gone, he heard shrieks behind him from the two princesses.

Turning on his feet, he stared up at what monstrosity had just entered the battlefield. The monster before him had caged both of the princesses and was holding one cage in each hand.

"What the heck is that…?" Kirby breathed. Peach appeared to have heard him.

"A Piranha Plant!" she shrieked. She grasped the bars of the cage and shook at it. The doors wouldn't budge. "Kirby, help!"

Kirby gulped and shifted his feet. The Piranha Plant before him was easily ten times his own height. It slammed the two cages together and bent over. As the beast let out a deafening roar, Kirby leaned back. He couldn't possibly destroy the monster on his own, but he could try and loosen one of the cages.

"I'll do my best!" he cried. He leapt up at the nearest cage and began to beat at the outside. The Piranha Plant roared in protest and tossed the cages around, trying to bat Kirby away. Kirby maneuvered around the beast's swings and applied his own blows when he could.

"Hurry!" Zelda shrieked.

"I can only do so much!" Kirby returned, wishing they would show some slight appreciation. Things were happening so quickly that he didn't know what to think. He brought his foot across the lock of Peach's cage and she leapt out of it gracefully. As the monster shrieked out of the terror of losing its prey, Kirby planted his other foot in the Piranha Plant's chest and it fell over flat. He landed beside Peach and they turned to face away.

Before Kirby had a chance to catch his breath, yet another attacker graced him with his presence on the platform. Out of the smoke leapt a stock man with a gun that was easily larger than himself. Peach gasped as she noticed the gun was pointed directly at her. The man cackled.

"Princess Peach!" he chuckled.

"Wario!" she said under her breath. Kirby looked up at her. "He's a brother of Mario's…only sick and twisted, in my opinion. Of course he'd be a part of this sinister mess!"

She and Kirby stood ready to fight. Wario gave them one last look and turned to face opposite of them. He aimed his gun at one of the cages the Piranha Plant had been holding. Zelda was lying underneath it. A pang of guilt hit Kirby when he realized the mistake he'd made in his battle. Wario fired the gun, and a beam of light in the shape of an arrow blasted Zelda in the chest. She fell to the ground as a statue.

"We have to help!" Peach cried. The two started for Wario, but Kirby glanced back at the bomb. It was ticking down towards zero, giving them two options: escape, or fall subject to the bomb's blast. Without asking, Kirby snatched up the desperate princess and ran her in the other direction. "Kirby!"

"Sorry, your highness!" Kirby squeaked. He placed her on a Warp Star and they began to fly out of the stadium. Peach gripped Kirby tightly in the flight. They looked back down at the stadium to see it overtaken by a gloomy, purple orb that continued to grow outwards.

"Wha-what is that?!" Peach exclaimed. Kirby turned his attention back to flying the Warp Star and swallowed. Yes, they'd told him and Mario about that, too. He regretted assuming that it was all something of the past. Peach glanced back at him and frowned, noting the dark sense of recognition in her rescuer's eyes. "Well, what it is, then? It is dangerous?"

"I don't know," Kirby managed.

"Will Zelda be alright?"

"I don't know that, either."

"So…what…what is it again?"

Kirby took one last look at the orb behind them. It had fully consumed the stadium by now. The purple surface reminded him of a raging storm; clouds of violet swooshed around, and an occasional flash that resembled lightning crashed within them. He wasn't sure how safe it was; he wasn't sure how dangerous it was. He just wanted to get away from it.

"That," he said grimly, "is Subspace."

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**Again, forgive me for any awkwardness. I'm used to writing Phineas and Ferb fanfiction. **


	2. Skyworld

**I have finally written another chapter for this! Yay! -AJ **

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Several miles above the Midair Stadium, the sky was clear and sun was shining. All was quiet. Clouds floated by aimlessly, unawares that disaster would soon strike their faces. A light breeze, even, pushed them along gently, taking them wherever it so pleased.

Now, way up in the clouds there was a temple to the goddess Palutena. She was the goddess of light from Angel Land, and her temple here was simply a means of her connection to this realm of Skyworld. It was in this temple that, amidst the peace and quiet of the skies, one could hear an excited bout of cheering.

Within the temple, looking deep into a water-filled looking glass, is an angel. He stared into the waters with intense focus. One of his fists pumped into the air—his favorite contestant in the Midair Stadium was winning the fight. A grin spread across his lips as Mario was declared the winner.

But then the lighting changed. He frowned, unsure of what the change in light could mean. It was then that he saw flashes of the battle that followed the friendly contest. Horror was painted across his face.

"No!" he cried. Those in the battle were, it would seem, losing to these invaders. He'd seen them before through other glimpses of the World of Trophies in his looking glass. Never before had the Primids been so numerous! They were usually in small groups that were easy for the people below to defeat. Yet now, they were able to hold off the fighters just long enough to let a green-clad menace plant a bomb in the stadium.

As he watched Mario's unfair exiting of the stadium, he grasped the edges of the looking glass and continued to stare. More villains came; it was a full-on attack. The enemy was showing its face for what it truly was. When Kirby scooped up the one female and flew her away on the star, he stepped back and gasped.

"Something must be done!" he breathed. But what?

A glowing light came from behind him. He turned to face it with a slight smile. The light was the familiar cue that his mistress had arrived. He took a few steps forward and knelt down. Palutena stretched out one hand.

"The World of Trophies is in need of your aid," she said softly. Two golden bands of light appeared on his left arm. The goddess materialized a bow and offered it to him. He reached up and took the bow in his hands.

"I will fight to the death!" he exclaimed.

"Go!" Palutena told him, waving towards the back of the temple. "You should not waste any time tarrying here!"

Nodding, he ran in the direction she'd pointed and turned his back to the wall. The wall opened up to reveal the calm sky. Tipping himself slightly backwards, he felt his body begin to freefall. His eyes slid shut. For a few moments, he let gravity do the work. Then suddenly, he flipped over and folded his wings back once. He zipped forward, speeding through the clouds.

He continued on until he saw the ship that had flown over the Midair Stadium. Perching on a rock, he stared out at it. The belly of the airship opened and began to sow the Shadow Bugs across the clouds. Primids began to arise from them. Pulling apart the bow into two swords, he twirled them around and furrowed his brow.

"The fight is on!" he shouted. He cut through the first row of Primids with ease. Smiling, he would vanquish any small Primid in his way. A few Spaaks arrived on the scene as well. Those were a piece of cake as well. It wasn't until he approached more difficult enemies that he was challenged.

The first newcomer to the party was a Jyk, a spiny creature that was fortified with electricity and protected from harm with a forcefield. He learned, from one strike to its protective shield, that it was better not to attack them at all. The sting left his body after a few minutes, only for him to then be encountered by a Cymul. Round, metallic creatures with reflective arms and two triangular blue eyes, the Cymul would spin their arms whenever something neared them. One cut his arm; he cut through its body with two swipes of the sword and dropped back down.

"This is getting ridiculous," he growled. He disliked, in some respects, having enemies that could touch him, but he also somewhat enjoyed the challenge. Putting his confliction aside, he advanced on through his foes.

He cleared the area and, with a satisfactory grin, put his bow back together. It was too soon, though, and just as he'd let his guard down, two large scythes planted themselves in the walkway beside him. He turned slowly to see that attached to these weapons was a large, round creature with wheels for feet and a small head. It glared down at him.

"Greaaaap…" it growled. It struggled somewhat at pulling its arms out of the ground, but once free, it spun around and raised them high into the air. Not waiting for his foe to strike again, he flew up between the scythes and watched the Greap bury its weapons in the ground once more.

"Missed me!" he grinned. He lashed at its back, causing it to jerk a little. It pulled its arms free and spun to face him. He leapt to its side and shot an arrow into its rear. The Greap roared with protest, spun around, and slammed its arms into the ground, sending him flying backwards from the impact. "You want to play hard? I see."

He charged the Greap while it was stuck in the ground and jerked the swords out to jab at it again. It yelped in pain, and as it freed itself and went to stab again, he tumbled away from its arms, knocked an arrow, and planted it in the back of the Greap's head. It shriveled away into Shadow Bugs.

"There," he breathed. He would have taken more of a rest, but a glint in the distance caught his eyes. He flew over to it and examined it more closely. It was a statue, one that looked familiar. "Mario!"

He tapped the base of the statue, and the plumber stood up, alarmed. Mario looked to his rescuer with confusion.

"I was just…in the Midair Stadium…" he murmured.

"Yes, I saw," he nodded to the man. "I'm Pit, servant of Palutena, the goddess of light. I know you are Mario, I watched your battle from up here."

"What happened?" Mario blinked.

"I saw that you were blasted away up here with a cannon," Pit told him. Mario nodded, waiting for more. "After this, one of the ladies, the one in purple and white, was taken captive as a trophy by a man. The lady in pink was rescued by Kirby just before the Subspace Bomb detonated, swallowing the whole stadium."

"Subspace Bomb?" Mario breathed. "I remember learning about those…I thought they were just theoretical."

"No longer," Pit shook his head. He waved out over Skyworld. "Skyworld has also been invaded by the Subspace Army. They must be up to something, for they have never amassed in such a way before. I fear that the worst is yet to come."

"There is a Subspace Army?" Mario sighed.

"My goddess has commanded me to fight against these foul minions," Pit said, thrusting out one fist. "Will you fight with me?"

Mario gave Pit a curt nod. They both looked forward, and Pit flew off. Mario was faster than he'd ever imagined. He could keep up with his own flying through leaps and bounds. His champion did not disappoint. They were stopped short on a platform in the sky. Pit pointed out the silhouette of the airship.

"That!" he said, with fervor in his voice. "That is what has been sowing the Shadow Bugs across Skyworld!"

"Yes, it appeared in the Midair Stadium as well," Mario hummed. "My opponent in the battle, Kirby, said that he is familiar with the ship."

"Oh?" Pit raised his brow.

"He called it the Battleship Halberd," Mario recalled. He put one hand to his chin in thought. "Though he said that he had never before known the ship to be associated with these Shadow Bugs. The ship is from his home, Dream Land, but the Shadow Bugs clearly are not."

"No, indeed," Pit shook his head, his brown hair whipping around wildly as he did so. "They are from Subspace itself. No such creature could come from the real world; it is repulsive to even think so."

"Subspace is not of this world, then?" Mario questioned.

"It is its own world," Pit replied grimly. "One I hope that we never have to venture through. I would fear it, for the hand of my goddess cannot reach there. She is the goddess of light, as I have told you; Subspace has no light. No light reaches it. It is the opposite of light, just as it is the opposite of good."

They stood there, staring out into the sky at the Halberd as it made its way across the horizon. They couldn't reach it in time to stop the spread of the Shadow Bugs, but they could continue to fight the evil minions that were appearing across the World of Trophies. They both sighed. Mario crossed his arms. Pit left his stiffly at his sides.

"We should probably move on," Pit suggested.

"I agree," Mario dipped his head.

As they turned to leave, a smaller ship zoomed overhead. They followed it with their eyes. It was headed straight for the Battleship Halberd. Pit narrowed his eyes and frowned. He'd never seen the likes of that ship before. It was white, and appeared to be made to only hold a pilot.

"Have you seen this ship before, also?" he asked his new companion.

"Never before," Mario shook his head. He, too, gazed after the small ship with curiosity. "Here's hoping they are on our side, and not theirs."

"Yes," Pit said grimly. "More foes would be a grievance. For the sake of the free people of the World of Trophies, I hope that you are right in saying this newcomer is alliance with us. If not…"

"If not…what?" Mario said slowly.

"We may be doomed," Pit sighed.

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**I suddenly find myself wanting to be at home playing this lovely game :/ Oh well, no Wii in my dorm. I must not grieve.**


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